Abbas: Israel striving for West Bank status quo

In interview with Ma'an, PA president decries continued settlement building, says Israel uninterested in annexing West Bank.

Mahmoud Abbas 311.
(photo credit:REUTERS)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday decried the
continued settlement building in the West Bank, but stated that Israel
is interested in maintaining the status quo.

In an interview with
Palestinian news agency Ma'an, Abbas said that Israeli politicians are
using the two-state solution as a slogan for the purposes of public
opinion but are acting against a negotiated settlement. Evidence of
this, he said, is the West Bank settlement enterprise, which he called
an obstacle to the peace process.

The PA president is set to deliver a long-anticipated letter to Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, which will include a warning that the two-state solution
could collapse unless Israel changes its current policies.

During
the interview, Abbas praised US President Barack Obama for his
insistence on an Israeli settlement moratorium in the West Bank, saying
that this should be a necessary precondition for negotiations.

Asked
if he believes Israel is working towards an end goal of annexing the
West Bank, Abbas said that Israel is actually trying to avoid this
outcome because it does not want an influx of West Bank (Arab)
residents.

Abbas insisted that a peace deal with Israel would necessitate a complete Israeli evacuation from the Jordan Valley. PM Netanyahu has previously said
that as a security precaution Israel will only sign an agreement with
the Palestinians if it includes an Israeli presence in the Jordan
Valley.